Almunia criticizes Arsenal team-mates over lack of effort

onMarch 10, 2011

The Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has accused his team-mates of not putting in enough effort to beat Barcelona in their Champions League tie on Tuesday. The Gunners were beaten 3-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate. Almunia believes his side could have given a better account of themselves.

The Guardian reported on some of his comments. He said: “Even at 3-1 we only needed one goal and you can’t understand how there can be players that were walking. With a bit more effort we could have caused them damage at the end”.

He continued: “Barcelona bossed us and in the second half we had players that were not running. It seemed that everything was lost but you can score a goal at any moment. So the only explanation I have is that we were so tired and the players couldn’t give any more. And being down to 10 men, well, it was double the effort”.
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The new Arsenal Number One Wojciech Szczesny dislocated his finger early in the game at the Nou Camp, meaning that Almunia is the only fit goalkeeper at the Emirates. Vito Mannone is on loan and Lukasz Fabianski is out for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury. Almunia is nearly certain to line up for the Gunners in Saturday’s FA Cup game against Manchester United at Old Trafford.